I have always been told, the more intense the emotion the
greater possibility of a haunting. In other words, when we
experience great happiness and/or profound sorrow, we emit
large amounts of energy. In turn the energy stays around,
trapped in organic hosts such as plaster and wood for
years and years, and is eventually released, sometimes as
what we refer to as ghosts.
This is a plausible theory for
what I experienced several years ago. I believe it was the
great happiness energy and not sorrow I felt, because I was
not scared in the least. Let me begin.
I was visiting a friend whose parents live in a house which
was built in the 1700's. The house had been many things; a
field hospital in the Civil War and a speak-easy during
prohibition. But the house is probably most famous for
being the residence of a family who owned and operated a
small ferry which traversed the Shenandoah River in
Virginia.
According to historians of the Shenandoah Valley, the ferry
owner was a kind man who, even before the Civil War began,
offered his slaves freedom and lifelong jobs on the ferry
if they so chose. Most took the job, worked the ferry and
lived in quarters which still stand on the ferry-house
property. History states that the ferry was quite busy
during the War Between the States and stayed that way up
until the late 1800's when a bridge was built. After the
war, the freed slaves stayed close to the ferry-house,
living on and working the land where their ancestors had
toiled for the kindly ferry owner.
Flash ahead 140 years. The old ferry-house and the out
buildings (including the slave quarters) restored. I am
visiting from out-of-town. I step outside on the front
porch for a smoke. It was a quiet summer night. All the
trees were in full foliage which allowed no lights from the
nearby highway to penetrate the property. There was no
moon. As I sat on the lower porch step, I could just barely
see the outline of the slave quarters, a low-set limestone
building about 50 yards from the main house. Now mind you,
I was smoking cigarettes, for had I been dipping into the
cannabis I would have answers for what was about to happen!
As I sat there it became apparent the slave quarters slowly
became illuminated. Not by car headlights or the moon. Not
even a powerful flashlight could create this kind of light.
The building seemed to be glowing from within. A soothing
blue light bathing the limestone facade from top to bottom.
As I sat mesmerized, several figures caught my attention.
Beginning from right to left, what appeared to be shadows
moved quickly in front of the building only to disappear on
the other side. This occured several times until all the
figures I had been watching congregated in front of the
slave quarters engaged in what looked like, a dance! Oh my
God! What was this? The figures of men, women and children
spinning wildly, dancing to a beat lost in history. This
went on for several minutes at least. I knew I was seeing a
crowd of slaves dancing and rejoicing, replayed for me from
energy released so long ago. The figures became three-
dimensional but cast no shadows upon the front of the
building. You can only imagine what I felt. This was
unbelievable! The figures began leaving one-by-one until
there were none. The building was once again dark and the
silence that should have been broken by the sound of
laughter and stomping feet was all that remained. I sat
dumbfounded at what I had just witnessed. I remember
smiling, feeling a warm rush of happiness, knowing that
these people were still happy and most of all, free even in
death.
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